Meet Matt Church

Today we’d like to introduce you to Matt Church.

Hi Matt, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstories.
I got into the Red Dirt Music scene in 1997, the first time I heard “The Great Divide”. At the time I owned a country bar/live music venue in Manhattan, Kansas called Longhorns. After getting out of the business I continued to support the Red Dirt Music scene by promoting the music. As time passed I began making designs based on the music which led to starting “Red Dirt Rogue”.

For the past 12 years, I have grown the business to include t-shirts, hats, hot sauce, flags, stickers, and more. I travel to several festivals a year for vending on-site – Mile 0 Fest, Firewater, Diamond Stone, Gypsy Cafe, and others. As well as my online shop at reddirtlifestyle.com

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It has its ups and downs. The fans of Red Dirt Music are amazing. I’d say one of the hardest things for me is getting my brand in front of people, at festivals you get a decent amount of people coming by the vendors but it is still only a small percentage of the actual festival attendees.

Also getting into festivals as a merchandise vendor has been trying. Some of the larger events (where I would get more visitors to my booth) are very hard to get a foot in the door.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Merchandise designer.

Part time Fabricator.

I have worked full-time as a Fabricator for a sound & light production company for 10 years, and have been doing the Red Dirt Rogue merch on the side for 12 years (hoping & praying it can become my full-time job).

We’d be interested to hear your thoughts on luck and what role, if any, you feel it’s played for you.
Luck has played a major role in making Red Dirt Rogue a legitimate business. Right Place, Right Time.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.reddirtlifestyle.com
• Instagram: @reddirtrogue
• Facebook: Facebook.com/RedDirtRogue/